F 689 
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Copy 1 



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Full Particulars-- Addresses of 

Cory> Biddle and McDonald* 

History of the Forts by 

8Mrs. Hugus, 



Fort Scott, Kansas, 
December 3, 1904 



PRICE, TWENTY-FIVE CENTS 



\1\fc 



FULL PROCEEDINGS 



AT THE- 



FLAG RAISING 



on dr. w. s. McDonalds lawn 

FORT SCOTT, KANSAS 
DECEMBER 3, J904 



COMPILED BY W. R. B1DDLE, l^Oo 



Published as a tribute to the early settlers of Fort Scott. 



If history makes for man's renown, 
Record all epochs of your toivn, 
Its characters, whether grey or gay. 
Gi<ve best that each may do or say. 



!IS0 ■«» A--D M ST NS CO., FOKT ICOTT, KANS>I 







RESIDENCE OF DR. W. S. McDONALD, SHOWING BLOCKHOUSE 



THE FLAG RAISING 




HE raising of the American flag over the 
Block House, December 3rd, 1904, was one of 
the most impressive ceremonies ever witnessed 
in the city. It was a pretty sight, too, one that 
will be remembered by the citizens of Fort Scott 
for many years. A program had been previous- 
ly arranged for the occasion, and it was carried 
out with not a single incident to mar the har- 
mony of the proceedings. Long before 2 o'clock 
people began to gather at the corner of First 
street and National avenue. By 2 o'clock, the time set for the ser- 
vices to begin, there were several hundred persons present, and had 
it not been for the unpleasant weather the crowd would have been 
very large. The procession, headed by the ladies of the Woman's 
Belief Corps, reached the Block house at a very few minutes past 
2 o'clock. The profession formed on Main street, as follows: 
The Woman's Belief Corps. 
The Grand Army of the Republic. 
The Fort Scott Band. 

Degree Teams of the Woodmen of the World. 
Citizens in carriages. 

The weather was unpleasantly cold, and for this reason the 
ceremonies were curtailed slightly, but they were solemn and im- 
pressive notwithstanding. Immediately upon the arrival at the 
grounds, the Woman's Belief Corps turned the great flag over to 
Mayor Congdon and he at once prepared it to be hoisted to the top 
of the mast, which is more than sixty feet high. With the 
Woman's Relief Corps, the Grand Army of the Republic circled 
around the flag pole on trie east, north and west, and the band on 
the south. Old Glory was raised on the signal of the report of the 
cannon, amid the sweet strains of America by the Band. There 
was just enough of a wind from the northwest to open the flag to 



its full beauty, and as ii opened up it received the hearty cheer.- of 
the several hundred people gathered around it. The Grand Annv 
gave it three cheer-. 



JUDGE C. E. CORY'S ADDRESS 

C. E. Cory then called the meeting to order and delivered the 
following address. 
Ladies and Gentlemen : 

There be men who have no idea of a country other than as 
a good place to make money in: who know nothing of the worth 

of a nation other than as it 
won Id protect their property; 
who prefer town lots and mort- 
gages to literary culture; who 
know nothing about the flag, 
and care nothing about the 
bag. except that it stands for 
the authority and power of the 
nation which I have mention- 
ed, an emblem of police pow- 
er to protect them and their 
property — a kind of a bit of 
cloth to use as a guidon in 
forming national alignments. 
To such people, and there are 
too many of them, this occa- 
sion means nothing. T h i s 
event is not for them. They 
C. E. CORY are probably now hugging 

their shekels and counting their profits. 

But there are other people, thank God, who can not look 
with attention upon the emblem that lias just been raised here this 
day without a throb in their hearts at the thought of what it has 
meant in the past, what it has cost in the past, wbat it is now, and 
what it promises for the future. The emblem of some weakling 
colonies who took it when it was small, and have held it up until 





C. F. DRAKE 



it is respected by every nation on earth. They do not revere that 
flag simply because it is a piece of cloth, or that it is a handy sym- 
bol to mark a fort or a custom house; but they look to it as the 
emblem of the very heart and life of the nation, and the very shek- 
inah of our national holies of holies. They look upon -that flag 1 , 
not in a material way, but as emblematic purely of the great foun- 
dations of civilization and religious freedom, which sprang into 
being so vigorously at the time when this flag was born. It has 
been carried, not in anger, but for the blessing of all peoples, and 
for the spread of the most kindly spirit of decent self government 
among men, until it is now the peculiar emblem of all that goes 
for the uplifting of humanity. 

To those people who feel this way this is a great day. The 
old log building — the block house — speaks to us today, not of 
blood-shed, not of carnage, not of destruction of homes, not of the 
destruction of property, but it speaks to us in tender accents of 
what our fathers did that the principle for which this piece of 
bunting stands shall live and spread among men. It speaks of the 
holy principles of fraternity, under which in recent years, and un- 
der that flag for the first time in the history of this old world, a 
victorious nation has seen fit to act the kind parent instead of the 
rude master. You will observe that even the old cannon standing 
there in front of the old block house, rotting on the lawn, as a me- 
mento of the past, is plugged and spiked. Its tongue of fire is si- 
lent. May it ever remain silent. 

"Nobody can think but that the intelligent, part of the Cu- 
bans are now thanking God for the blessing of having that flag 
float over their cities. Where there was disease, and filth, and 
contagion, there goes health, and sanitation, and comfort. Where 
there was ignorance, and stupidity, and brutality, there comes 
schools, and colleges, and everything that makes man better. No 
other flag on earth can have that said of it. 

When on a day in 1865 millions of misguided people saw 
the last hope of what they were striving for vanish, and a victor- 
ious army occupying their cities, the world was shocked and as- 
tounded to see a nation, after five years of bloody war, release 
their prisoners, treat the conquered opposing chieftans kindly, and 



do everything in their power to restore that peace which we all 
hope may never be marred again on our soil. 

War is something lurid and horrible even at its best, but it 
is all the more horrible where brothers' arms are raised against 
brothers, and, as I say, the nations of the world were astounded 
that this country was big enough and wise enough at such a time, 
when the passions of war had wrought up the hearts of men, to 
extend the olive branch of peace, and immediately proceed to re- 
store the ravages of war. 

In the recent troubles in the Philippine Islands, men were 
killed, property was destroyed, and damage w T as done. It was not 
a severe war, but it was too great a war to receive the entire en- 
dorsement of the heart of Christendom. There are indeed times 
when it is necessary 'to be cruel to be kind.' 

We hear thoughtless people talk foolishly, but where is the 
American who respects freedom, and believes in enlightenment, be- 
lieves in protecting the weak, who believes in the uplifting of hu- 
manity, who does not know in his heart, and acknowledge, that the 
visit of the stars and stripes to the Philippine Islands was a very 
God-send to that country? 

From the actions of our government in the past through 
all its history, we must believe that in the future as in the past. 
this flag shall be the emblem of all that is good and true and kind- 
ly, for the upbuilding of the nation. 

To Mrs. Hugus, Patriotic Instructor for the Woman's Ke- 
lief Corps, too much credit cannot be given for arranging this oc- 
casion of honoring the flag, and at the same time re-dedicating the 
old building which stands before us as a memento of the brave 
things of the past, the good and kindly things of the present, and 
the hope of the future. 

Dr. McDonald is to be commended for his patriotic senti- 
ment in preserving this old block house and raising this flag in 
memory of the old times, and in evidence of all Ave hold dear. 
The block house is the last relic in Fort Scott of the Civil War. 
May its like in grim action never be needed again. 

Dr. Porter will now offor prayer. 



JUDGE W. R. BJDDLES ADDRESS. 

After the invocation of the divine blessing by the Rev. Dr. W. 
C. Porter, of the First Presbyterian church. W. R. Bid'dle was in- 
troduced and made the address of the day, speaking as follows: 
Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen: — 

It would have been better to have selected some person to 
deliver the address on this occasion who had been one of the early 

settlers of this town and who 
had been a participant in the 
stirring times of its early 
growth. He would have been 
better fitted to enter into the 
spirit of the urea-ion and have 
been better able to give a clear 
understanding of the struggles 
incident to those early times. 

However well informed a 
person may be on the early his- 
tory of Fort Scott from the 
lips of others and from the his- 
tory of those times, yet he can 
never clearly set' nor disclose 
the actual facts, the trials and 
the work of those early settlers 
w. r.. biddl ; as ft 1G r>11( , w i 10 was a party to 

i hem and who was a part of them. 

From 1843, when this point was established as a tort by 
the United States Government, and named after Lieutenant Gen- 
eral Winlield Scott, it was a. rendezvous tor [Jnited States troop- 
Kept for the purpose of protecting the Missouri border. Kansas 
was on the map as a part of the Great American Desert. 

The climate and the fertility of the soil were practically un- 
known. A few adventurers had passed across its broad prairies. 
I'nt no settled habitation of the American people had been made 
within its borders. 

After the passage of the fvansas- Nebraska hill in 1854. cre- 
ating Kansas and Nebraska territories and opening up the country 





T. \V. TALL.MAN 



for settlement, a few adventurous spirits immediately arrived in 
Fort Scott and founded the town. 

One of the first of these was Col. Hiero T. Wilson. He was 
joined immediately thereafter by Gov. George A. Crawford. 

Following him came Doc. Ransom, Judge Joe Williams, Sam 
Williams, George W. Clark, C. H. Haynes, Judge William Mar- 
grave, T. W. Tallman, Dr. Couch, B. F. Riggin, Blake Little, Dr. 
Hill, Dr. Bills, old man Roach, Jack Harris, Squire Bullock, Wil- 
liam Linn, J. S. Cawkins, Solomon P. Hall, Ed Wiggins, Charles 
Osbun, George Daniels, A. F. Bicking, Dick Phillips, Alexander 
McDonald, William Smith. Jack White, William Dennison, Sol 
Eaton, C. F. Drake, E. L. Marble, William Gallaher, B. P. Mc- 
Donald, A. H. Campbell, Charles Dimon, Jack Arnett, E. M. Hu- 
lett, John Crow, John G. Stewart, Dr. Redfield, Isaac Stadden. 
William Judson, C. W. Goodlander, Wiley Anderson, C. W. Blair, 
A. R. Allison, John Miller, David Manlove, David Emmert, George 
Dimon, Carter Wilder, J. R. Morley, George Clark, Thomas 
Bridgen, Julius Neubauer, John Dillon, George Stockmeyer, Billy 
Robinson, Ben Files, Mrs. Dr. Baldwin, Mrs. E. T. Dorey Mrs. 
Coston Dr. J. S. Redfield C. T. Rucker and Rev. Austin Warner, 
some of these bringing with them wives and families 

The passage of the bill which opened Kansas to settlement 
created great excitement throughout the entire country. By the 
admission of Missouri in 1820, a compromise was made between 
the opposing forces of the South and North whereby it was agreed 
that slavery should never be established by law north of the south- 
ern line of Kansas. And many good people of the North thought 
that the passage of this bill was a violation of that compromise. 

By the terms of this bill the slave holder was permitted to 
bring his slaves into Kansas, and what was known as "Squatter 
Sovereignty" was established. That is, the people were to inhabit 
the territory and when a sufficient number of them had done so 
they were to vote upon the proposition as to whether Kansas should 
be a slave or a free state. 

This created a conflict between two opposing forces of so- 
ciety in the United States. One believed that slaver}' was a divine 



institution and that the negro was property. That he was of an 
inferior race and by nature was intended to be a servant for the 
white man. 

The other believed that all men, without regard to color, 
should be free. That slavery was inconsistent with the divine law. 
was contrary to human justice and that it was a blight on civiliza- 
tion. That it not only injured and degraded the colored man, but 
that it had an injurious effect upon the white race. 

The conflict was seen by the leaders of the South as well as 
those of the North, and Kansas was made the battle ground. 

The result was that those who came to Kansas came here 
with a definite purpose which was to make Kansas a free or a slave 
state. 

We can scarcely realize how deep and strong the feeling was 
on both sides. The early pioneer who came to Kansas to make it 
his home had the courage of his convictions. The falterer, the com- 
promiser, the timid and the coward, were not among these early 
pioneers. They were men of courage and determination. I think 
few of them 'thought at that time that the conflict would extend 
beyond the Kansas territory. They evidently were aware of the 
importance of the conflict, and that the entire people of the United 
States were interested in its results. 

Four miles east of the fort was the western line of Missouri. 
No monument indicated where that line Avas, but east of it the 
the country was inhabited by a people who were practically unani- 
mously in favor of making Kansas a slave state. 

Seventy-five miles east was Osceola, the head waters of navi- 
gation on the Osage river. 100 miles north was Westport, the 
nearest point of navigation on the Missouri river. Without railroads 
and surrounded by an uninhabited prairie, these early pioneers 
located their town upon the banks of the Marmaton and Buck Run. 
Along these streams were scattered a few cotton wood trees. Their 
banks were precipitate and the location of the town was upon a 
rocky, hilly, broken surface. 

Perhaps the location of the fort here caused the location of 




tlic (own. One by one the early pioneers dropped in from all 

parts of the country. Some 
from Kentucky, others from 
Ohio. Pennsylvania. Indiana 
and Illinois, some from New 
England. They gathered 

here on these stony hills and 
founded the present city of 
Fort Scott. 

It was a very small begin- 
ning, but it had within its lit- 
tle boundaries an enterpris- 
ing, audacious, courageous 
and determined people. 

It was true of the early 
settlement of Fort Scott as <>| 
;ill early settlements that not 
every one who came reniain- 
C. H. HAVNES ed. Some went farther out on 

the frontier. Others went back to their wife's people. Some 
sought other locations, while others were stricken down in the con- 
flict. And still others succumbed to the struggle and passed away 
from disease and privation. The sturdiest alone remained. 

There were some incidents characteristic of these early settlers 
that should he noted. They were very hospitable. They were 
always prepared for danger. They made it their Imsincss to know 
every person, who settled in their midst, what his politics was and 
where he was from, his ancestry, his religion, his beliefs upon 
slavery and mi which side of the conflict he stood. Every man 
was en one side or the other. There was no middle ground. 

Again, there were no dudes among them. Calf skin was an 
unknown leather. Boiled shirts wen 1 worn only on special occa- 
sions. Stovepipe hats had a great struggle for existence. Linen 
collars wciv not kept for sale in the country stores. Travel was on 
looi, horseback, by wagon or by stage coach. Uoads were no! on 
-eel ion line-, for there were none. 

The early settlers were very fond of amusement. Fun and 




J. A. DURKEE 




DR. SARAH C. HAL] 



music are as 




inherent in man's nature as is his reverence for the 
Deity, and the early settlers of 
Fort Scott were up to frolics 
of all kinds. Dancing and so- 
cial parties were frequently 
had. Horse racing, shooting 
contests and athletic sports re- 
ceived encouragement. The 
mails were very slow. Letters 
were few. And thus the set- 
tlement began. 

'Being a law unto them- 
selves and punishing trans- 
gressors in a summary way at 
first, they soon established 
courts , organized school dis- 
tricts and were prepared for 
every emergency. 

Tn each emergency in hu- 
man society the man for the 
occasion comes forward and is selected. And the leading men in 
Fort Scott soon came to the front. The success of a town depends 
first upon capable, disinterested leaders in whom the people have 
confidence and in the hearty co-operation of the people. This was 
the case in Fort Scott. 

Without trying to select those who should be mentioned as 
leaders, I think none will question the fact that Col. Wilson, Gov. 
Crawford, C. F. Drake, C. W. Goodlander, B. P. McDonald, Dr. 
Redfield and C. H. Osbun can eacli well be mentioned in that con- 
nection. The people were alive to the occasion. 

Among the old settlers who still survive and are still residents 
of Fort Scott, the following may be mentioned. 

A. H. Campbell and wife, B. P. McDonald and wife, Mrs. C. 
Ilavnes, Mrs. C. W. Goodlander, E. L. Marble, C. H. Osbun, T. 
W. Tallman, Ben Piles, Mrs T. F. Robley, George Stockmeyer. 
Mrs. Dr. Baldwin, Mrs. Eunice Dorey, Mrs. Coston, John Gardner, 



john Mcdonald 



Mrs. Dr. Redfield, C. T. Rucker, Austin Warner, Ed Wiggins and 
Mrs. John McDonald. 

This old block house was built is 1863. It was made of hewed 
logs sided with rough boards as you see it now. It was built by 
the government on the corner of Scott Avenue and first street. It 
possesses, as you see, no beauty, and has no architectural finish. In 
fact, it is one of the crudest of buildings. But it was built for a 
purpose, and was regarded in that early day as one of the essential 
defenses of Fort Scott. Fortunately there was never any especial 
necessity for its use. During the Price raid it would have been of 
great utility had Price's army attacked Fort Scott. 

One of our distinguished fellow citizens, who has perhaps 
delved deeper into the sentiment that surrounds it, and has seen 
more clearly the lessons its preservation will teach the future gen- 
erations than others ; and through whose liberality it has been placed 
upon this lot where we now stand, that no ruthless hand may here- 
after desecrate it. That it may be preserved and observed by the 
coming generations of men, and that it may teach them a lesson of 
patriotism and loyalty. That it may remind them of the heroic days 
of our early pioneers. Of their sacrifices, of their courage, and of 
the privations they endured during their pioneer life. 

Accompanying it is the beautiful flagstaff located by the same 
patriotic citizen. All honor to Dr. W. S. McDonald. Some call his 
efforts, expenses ami trouble in preserving the old block house and 
locating this fine flag stall', as a mere sentiment. Truly it is not a 
business venture. The nionej that he expended and the labor that 
he has done in preserving this old relic will never cause him to clip 
interest coupons becauseof his investment.There is no pecuniary 
income from it, and it is true that these efforts on his behalf are 
the results of patriotism and sentiment. 

The man who sees nothing but gain in all of his efforts in life 
can not appreciate ami never will appreciate the work Dr. McDon- 
ald has done. 

It is not by gaining wealth that character is builded. 
"He who creates and perpetuates a noble sentiment and patri- 
otic spirit and a love of country, and who can by such acts as these 



remind the coming youth of the heroic days of the early pioneers. 
and the founders of our civilization, will long be remembered when 
thos( who devote their energies to sordid gain are forgotten. 

I admire the sentiment. 

I love the act. and we should 
all love and honer the man 
who lias expended his time 
and his means in the preserva- 
tion of this old relic. 

The public, and especially 
the women of the Women's 
Relief Corps, assisted by Mrs. 
Laura V. Hugus, and the old 
soldiers of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, and J. P. Robens 
who snggesti d i he idea, have 
fully appreciated the efforts of 
our distinguished fellow citi- 
zen by eoni ributing to the pi; r- 
chase of this flag which now 
waves at the top of the flag 
stall'. They understand the 
motive. They realize the sac- 
rifice of our early pioneers, and all honor to them. 

May this old block house and this Sag staff continue to exist 
and may this flag wave for alt time, so that the generations of men 
who come hereafter may he remindied of the brave and heroic deed- 
as well as the patriotism of our early pioneers, and also those now 
here who seek to preserve these relics, and that a true sentiment of 
patriotism ma\ he fully hereafter maintained. 

I don't believe those old pioneers realized fully the civiliza- 
tion they were creating. 1 don't believe they contemplated the fact 
that they were the founders of a great state. They builded better than 
they knew. Broadened in mind and in spirit by the \'wc air and: the 
waving grass of the boundless prairies, they grew broader andbetter 
each year. Like all of the Anglo-Saxon race they organized 1 towns, 
counties, townships and school districts, and using a law of their 




YV. H. STOUT 



own making, punished transgressors and evil-doers in a summary 
way: hut soon established courts and recognized the force of Law, 
and Kansas became one of the most Law-abiding places on the face 
of the earth. 

When we look m\<t this count? and over Eastern Kansas and 
see the fine orchards, the waving grain, the fields of corn, the fine 

residences, all the land in cul- 
tivation, we can hardly 
realize what a transformation 
has been made. It is such a 
trnsformation as is known only 
in America. 

ddic roundel's of Rome had 
those qualities that made the 
great Roman republic. Tin 
Pilgrim fathers who landed at 
Plymouth Rock stamped their 
character forever upon the civ- 
ilization, customs, laws and 
society of the New England 
state.-. Captain John Smith 
and his cavaliers at James- 
town have given strength and 
direct ion to civilizat ion in Vir- 
gina and Kentucky. 

If we should go farther 
hack we would find the sprit 
of Moses and Joshua influen- 
cing the destinies of the Jewish nation for centuries after they were 
buried. The same can be said of Kansas. 

These early pioneers gave and still give Kansas its civiliza- 
tion, its morality, its education and its religion, their early strug- 
gles purified. Their character gave strength and prominence to 
their wisdom, and thus gave to themselves and their children those 
qualities that have made Kansas so great. 

While the preservation of this block house and this Hag staff 
with the flag continually waving in the breeze from its highest point. 




DNNIEL TODD 







GEO. A. CRAWFORD 




FORT CI. AIR 



is commendable, yet these are not the most enduring monuments 
to our early pioneers. 

If we look over Fort Scott and Bourbon county we will there 
find a more enduring monument, These happy homes of prosper- 
ous freemen: these churches; these schools; the care for the un- 
fortunate and homeless: these institutions of education, religion 
and humanity; these fine streets and fine shade trees; these rail- 
roads: but greater by far (be strong energies they created by which 
the resources of the future are to be developed. These are the 
monuments of our early pioneers. 

Their memorial is all over this city and (his county. Our 
smallest streams; our beloved Marmaton roll mingling with their 
fame forever." 

dr. McDonalds response. 

"Ladies of the Woman's Relief Corp.-. Gentlemen of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, Gentlemen of the Union Veter- 
ans' Legion, and Fellow Citi- 
zens, one and all: It affords 
me great pleasure to greet you 
here this afternoon. I am not 
vain enough to think for a 
moment that your assembling 
here is entirely in recognition 
of anything I have done. But 
I feel that you come to pay 
homage to the flag, to see Old 
Glory unfurled and to renew 
your allegiance to it. It does 
us good once in a while to 
stand under the Stars and 
Stripes, tc catch inspiration 
from its glittering folds, and 
to have it stir up our emotions 
and pull our heart strings. It 
helps us to feel that everything 
in this life that is worth living for is centered in that flag. It is a 
glad response to all our hopes, our fears, our joys and sorrows. It 




dr. w. s. Mcdonald 



that it 



(lutv 



is the embodiment of all the best things that have happened in the 
past. It is the promise of all the good that is yet to come. It 
appeals to our best thoughts and purposes. It awakens new hopes 
and aspirations and makes us thankful to God that we live under 
its benign influence and power. Whether we behold it peacefully 
waving over our lawn, from the stately ship or barren island — it 
means the same to every true heart. Liberty — Fraternity — and 
Equality. It is an incentive to every honorable deed and a rebuke 
to unrigtheousness. It signals the victories of our fathers across 
the continent, and heralds the glad shout of a free people from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific; from the rocky headlands of Maine to the 
land of the Montezumas. As another has said. "It is the symbol of 
all that we are and of all that we hope tobe." It is the emblem of 
equal rights. It means that this continent has been dedicated to 
freedom; it means Universal Education — Light for every mind' — 
Knowledge for every child. It means that the school house is the 
fortress of our liberty. It means that governments derive 
their just pow< rs from the consent of the governed. It 

I' every citizen to bear his 
part of the public burden — to 
take part in the affairs of his 
town — his county — bis state 
and his country. It means 
that all distinctions based on 
birth or blood have perished 
from our laws; that our Gov- 
ernment shall stand between 
labor and capital, between the 
weak and the strong, between 
the individual and the corpor- 
ation, between want and 
wealth, and give and guaran- 
tee simple justice to each and 
all. It is the emblem of the 
supreme will of the nation — 
beneath its folds the weakest 
must be protected and the 
strongest must obey. It rep- 




D. C. C'ONGDON 



resents the sufferings of the past and the glories yet to be." 

Many of yon gentlemen have followed it through rebellion's 
darkest da.vs — at Bull Run, Manassas. Vieksburg, Ami. 'tain. Chan- 
eellorsville and Gettysburg, and have seen the tide of battle ebb 
and flow around if. and have risked your lives again and again in 
its defense. To you this day we how out- heads in greatful recog- 
nition of your noble sacrifice, and in return we pledge ourselves to 
better citizenship and' to more faithfully shield the flag you have 
preserved for us. 

And to you ladies, who willingly gave up lives clearer to you 
than your own life — to you who in the dark days were a living 
sacrifice for our country, we offer words of hope and cheer — hopi 
idiat as citizen.- we may live so loyal to truthful and righteous 
that no dark hour will ever obscure its folds and that dawn's early 
light will always reveal what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's 
last, gleaming.' To you ladies, especially of the Relief Corps — to 
you gentlemen of the Grand Army of the Republic — to you gentle- 
men of the Union Veterans Legion, and to you Citizens one and all, 
I cannot find words to properly express my appreciation for your 
-iff. this beautiful flag. If I should attempt it. [ 
would want to thank you not only for myself and wife, hut I would 
want to thank you in behalf of every man. woman and child that 
may behold it. For he assured as it fiats from yon height, it will 
be an object of love to theveteran — an inspiration to our youth 
and a lesson of patriotism to every child. 



"'When freedom from her mountain height, 
Unfurled her standard to the air. 

She /arc the azure role of night. 

And set l!ir slurs of glory there! 

She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 

'lite milky baldric of the slcies, 

And striped it^ purr celest 'ml white 

With streamings of the morning light; 

Then from his mansion in the sun, 

She rolled her einjle-beorer doivn, 
And gave into his mighty hand 
The symbol of her chosen land. 



"'Flag of the free, heart's hope and home, 

By angel hands to valor given, 
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 

And all thy hues were bom in heaven. 
Forever float that standard sheet, 

Where breathes the foe but fails before us, 
With Freedom's soil beneath, our feet, 

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us.' 

And friends, as much as I feel complimented and honored, 
here to-day by your presence : as much as I am delighted with your 
beautiful gift, it pleases me more to feel that this flag raising is 
not so much in honor of present achievement as it is of the past. 

The thoughts and emo- 
tions aroused in us this 
afternoon by that grim, 
sturdy pile of oak; the 
block house, its rougb 
hewn timbers; its yawn- 
ing port holes; all carry 
us in imagination back 
to heroic days, and we 
honor and revere nee 
tbose men and women 
who stamped their char- 
acter on those rougft 
logs; who poured their 
hearts' blood into the 
conflict. Many of the 
hands that hewed these 
timbers arc now motion- 
less, the lips that gave 
command arc hushed ; 
but the silent grim struc- 
ture stands there before 
us — a symbol of those sanguinary times — a monument of the 
past. 

With a spirit of deep respect and love for the sturdy man- 
hood and valor of our early pioneers, I have endeavored to place 




REV 



PORTER 



this crumbling, decaying structure on a sure foundation, where it 
may rest for many years to come, that our children and 
children's children may see in it a reminder of the trials and 
heroism of their ancestry. Today, thank God, peace reigns over 
the length and breadth of our land; and under its sunshine as we 
raise this flag aloft, let us dedicate and consecrate it to the bravery 
and valor of all our old citizens, living and dead, who followed the 
flag through the dangers of pillage and war which devastated this 
land, and who on this very ground on which we stand, fearlessly 
led in the conflict and bared their breasts to every danger in de- 
fense of their homes and their country— to the memory of those 
heroes, let us raise this flag and may God grant that we may live 
worthy of their memories and the grand inheritance they have left 
us— a free and undivided country. 

HISTORY OF BLOCK HOUSES. 

When President Lincoln, in 1861, issued his first proclama- 
tion for troops for three months' service, a battalion was raised in 

Fort Scott and ordered to re- 
port at Wyandotte, Kansas. 
But before camp and garrison 
equipage could be furnished, 
the time for their enlistment 
had expired, and they were 
mustered out of service and re- 
turned home. 

Immediately after the 
second call of President Lin- 
coln for troops, recruiting of- 
ficers were detailed, and the 
Sixth Kansas Cavalry was 
mustered into service with full 
complement of officers and 
men. This regiment, with 
ether troops, remained on duty 
at Fort Scott for the purpose 
of guarding the large quanti- 
MRS. LAURA E. HUGUS li<- of quartermaster, ordi- 




nance and hospital stores, which were placed at Fort Scott by the 
government for supplying the troops south to the Red River. 

In order to guard this large quantity of supplies, fortifica- 
tions were ordered to be erected at Fort Scott, consisting of breast- 
works, stockades and three lunettes (block houses), under the 
supervision of ('apt. William Holcke, V. S. Army Engineer. This 
was done under the direction of the Secretary of War. These 
lunettes or block houses were constructed and named. One. Fort 
Inslev, was located on the point of the mound near where the Plaza 
School building now is. This was the largest and was used for 
the purpose of storing ammunition. Fort Henning, another of 
the block houses, w?. • located on the corner of First Street and 
Scott Avenue, where the post office now stands. Fort Blair, an- 
other of Tlie block houses, was located on the corner id' Second 
Street and .National Avenue. Two large twenty-four pound 
siege guns wire planted near Fort Blair. 

The government failed to furnish any fixed ammunition for 
the siege guns, and Peter Riley, a member id' the Sixth Kansas, 

who is still living and en- 
joying a heart old age. 
and who was then clerk of the 
ordinance department at Fort 
Scott, made and tilled flannel 
sacks with powder, with which 
these siege guns were charged. 
Air. Riley still preserves the 
thimble he u>>h\ in making 
these sacks. These siege guns 
were moved to the point id' the 
mound north of the Plaza dur- 
ing the Price Paid and the 
sight id' them indicated to 
Price's army, a.- they came 
north of the Marmaton. that 

Fort Scott was well prepared 
mary t!. Mcdonald. . , . . ,, , •i M+ i 1 . 

to defend itself, and evidently 

caused his army to move off easi into Missouri, thus leaving Fort 




Scott from being pillaged and burned. Fori Scotl was at that 
nine defended by less than 400 men and Price's army was being 
sorely pressed by Blair and Moonlight's men, who engaged the 
rear guard of Price's army on Shilo Creek, about four miles east 
of Fort Scott. The boom of the guns in this engagement was 
sweet music to the then inhabitants of the Solid City. W. II. 
Riley, son of Peter Riley, after the fight picked up on the battle- 
field a bullet mould which his father still preserves. 

All these dinettes have been destroyed or disappeared except 
Fort Henning. It was first moved to the corner north and across 
Second Street. Several years ago Dr. W. S. McDonald purchased, 
removed and located ii on Lot 4. Block 101. being on the lawn im- 
mediately south of his residence. He also erected a flag stall' in 
front of it on the same let. and proposes to preserve it. In front 
of it. on the same lot. is a cannon, an old one thai was captured 
from Gen. Price. 

Pursuant to an order of (Jen. Blunt, dated .March 6th, 1863, 
Capt. Haines assisted in the erection of these fortifications. The 
order is as follows : "'Headquarters, District of Kansas. 

•fort Leavenworth, March 11. 1863. 
'Special Order \o. I). 

'First Lieut. ('. II. llaynes. 6th Reg. Ks. Vol. is hereby de- 
tailed on Engineer duty and will repbrt to Capt. \V. Holcke A. I). 

C, superintending civet ion of 
fortifications at Fort Scott. 
Kansas. 

'By order of 

Brig. ( ienl. Blunt. 
'Moonlight, 

•Lieut. Col. & chf. of Stall'." " 

Lieutenant Haines also look 
command of the fortifications, 
pursuant to the following or- 
der: 

"'May 3rd, 1863. 
'Lieutenant C. 11. Eaines, 
Company K. Sixth Kansas 
Cavalry, is hereby ordered to 
assume command of fortifica- 
tions now being erected at 
Fort Seott. Kansas, under 
plans and specifications fur- 




MRS. C. H. HAYES. 



nished him with this order, consisting of breast works, stockades 
and three lunettes, namely, Fort Insley, Fort Henry and Fort 
Blair. And also to take charge of, and account for all government 
stores now being used in said construction and turned over to him 
at this time. 

f Wm. Holcke, Capt and U. S. Army 
Engineer in charge of erection of for- 
tifications at Fort Scott, Kansas.' ,: 

Lieutenant Haines became Captain of Company B, 14th 
Kansas Cavalry, and his widow, now residing in Fort Scott, has 
preserved these orders, and takes much pride in showing them to 
her friends, as well she may, but has lately kindly presented them 
framed to the Fort Scott Historical Society. 

These forts, or lunettes, were built of sawed slabs or thick 
boards thoroughly spiked, covered with shingles and weather-board- 
ed with rough boards sawed from native lumber. They each had 
openings for rifles and small cannon. 





OUR FLAG 

By J. P. Eobexs. 

/// the days of old, as we are told, 
In history's Ira res of gold; 
II e had no flag, as floats to-day 
O'er land and islands far away. 

On Mohawk's hunks, whose waters glide 
'In Hudson's — thence to Ocean's tide; 
.1 woman gave her flannel shirt. 
An emblem true for Freedom's work. 



That emblem waved (ill victory came, 
Under Washington, who with acclaim 
Drove Hritish back from Jersey's fields, 
Where lordly Howe reluctant yields. 



The banner rose brace o'er the sea. 
Where British pride would conquerors be — 
Their hopes were dashed by the Chespeake 
Whose glorious deeds. I need not speak. 

Later this flag sire pi Mexico's plain. 
Fearlessly leading for humanity's gain. 
And under Dillingham's masterful sway, 
A hand opened ports to commerce way. 

And later, when the cry of i reason rang 
For a disabled Union,— a divided land. 
This flag waved out from sea to sea. 
Protecting those who would be free. 

And while the curse of Spain's proud hand 
Fell gear by year on ('aba's land 
Our flag with stars of heavenly Ugh I. 

L' el eased the isle in Freedom's might. 

This, the history of a gallant flag 
Commencing as a dismal rag. 
No nation feared; but in oar time, 
Is loved and waved in every clime. 

Thus float old flag! For evermore. 

G ranch's! of all in histoids store, 

Till men and Nations shall be no more. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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